Is the Era of the Motorcycle Over?

           I am not a fan of motorcycles; they are loud, unsafe, and occasionally tacky. From the first paragraph I knew that the author was a proud owner of four motorcycles and was certainly going to be biased, but the article took an unexpected turn. Frederick Seidel made the argument that the motorcycle industry is losing its customers to Apple. Motorcycles are now mainly for middle-ages men and Apple, "It’s their operating speeds that thrill. Young people cut a bella figura on their electronic devices". Seidel says that fifty years ago it was cool to own a motorcycle and now they are losing to Apple, so will Apple lose its customers to another product fifty years in the future? I don't think that will ever happen in my lifetime, but Seidel's argument made me realize that in the economy, companies benefit from others losses.
        Seidel's audience would be middle-aged men who enjoy motorcycles, and like him are disappointed by the younger generations loss of interest in them. His article mainly focused on the industry and how it is losing customers to Apple, but also to comment on the new Ducati motorcycle, debuting this week in Italy. His goal through this article is to get the younger generation interested in motorcycles, but for us a motorcycle would not be affected for our everyday lives. A motorcycle is a luxury item, when a computer is now a necessity for today's young adults.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/opinion/sunday/is-the-iphone-replacing-the-motorcycle.html?_r=1&ref=opinion